The experimental technique of interferometric surface monitoring has been used to study the onset of laser ablation. The improved technique allows a careful monitoring of laser-induced cavitation phenomenon in water with a temporal resolution of a (3 nanoseconds. This technique has also been applied to "soft" tissue (meniscus) and it has been shown that cavitation occurs within meniscus. Experiments are currently underway to study this process in more detail to determine the role of cavitation in the initiation of the ablation process.